Hell, it’s NOT a slow day here at all, folks. I just have a REALLY slower than usual internet connection hell today. Bleh. I wanted to do about nine more posts, but it looks as if that’s going to be about five short, which stinks. Worse, I’ll be stuck here tomorrow for a bit, as I need to wait around for a delivery I didn’t get today, so I may be a bit backlogged into the weekend (Nooooooooo!). Oh well – it’s not as if I hit the disco or anything outdoorsy like that anyway. Stay tuned…
Yeah, that’s more like it. Of course, given the buzz building up around this one, it’s still going to be polarizing at the end of the day because of the new, darker tone and weird Superman costume some still hate with a passion. Of course, I say let’s see this as a nice restart to a franchise that went off the rails after the second film (and even then, that second film was half of what it could have been thanks to a directorial change that added a wee bit too much funny stuff). If this new flick IS as amazing as it looks, I’m hoping there’s a story arc sitting in a safe somewhere that can be whipped out to ensure the same quality goes into that (inevitable) sequel…
It’s finally here and yep, you should be playing this if you’re a Wii owner and fan of this type of fantasy action/RPG. As I’m seeing a lot of those “Project Rainfall” petitioners whooping it up and patting themselves on the back and heads about how they got those final three important Wii-only JRPGs localized, I’ll have to admit that after playing through Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story that so far, these games have been pretty amazing… but not quite the be-all, end-alls some were claiming and hoping they’d turn out to be. That said, I’m definitely not passing up Pandora’s Tower at all, as it might be the most unique of the tree titles in terms of a few things. So, a big fat THANK YOU goes out (once again) to the fine folks at Xseed Games for bringing home that BACON one final time for us Wii owners out there. You’ll only get that in-joke if you hang around the company’s message boards, by the way…
OK, OK, I get it. We’re totally screwed in the future. SPOILER ALERT: “Soylent Green is people!!!” Oops. Wrong movie. Anyway, as good as these films look with all those fancy effects and enotional performances, it’s turning into a parade of “We’re DOOOOOOMED!” cinema, which for my dime, was done better back in the days of cheaper and campier “B” flicks. Don’t get me wrong, folks – I like watching these films from time to time, but it seems that Hollywood LOVES to follow trends and run them into the ground to an overly numbing degree. Of course, try telling that to the masses who end up plopping down the cost of a movie ticket on a regular basis to see these similar flicks and you’ll probably catch a popcorn bucket to the head…
Platform: Nintendo DS/3DS
Developer: Torus Games
Publisher: D3Publisher of America
# of Players: 1 – 4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Score: C (70%)
Like the Wii and Wii U versions, The Croods Prehistoric Party is a collection of 30 mini-games that range from pretty darn fun to slightly (and temporarily) baffling. While colorful and lots of fun to play, both of the portable versions miss the golden opportunity to add any sort of multiplayer modes. In terms of design decisions on a handheld that has a number of fine multiplayer and party-themed games, this is actually a lot more baffling than that occasional mini-game you won’t get right away. As for how this is as a solo game, well, playing against the AI is at best, a bit too easy and at worst, way too easy once you find a few exploits too tempting to pass up… Continue reading
Hmmm… for a big deal FBI Special Agent, Francis York Morgan (just call him York!) can occasionally be as clueless as a headless chicken. A frozen headless chicken, at that. Case in point: today, he’s been running all around Greenvale’s lush outdoors looking to wrap up a few loose ends in his Red Seeds Killer case file, but there’s been NO ONE around to talk to. Let’s just say that the man is even more confused than usual and it took him the better part of the day to figure out what was going on. If only he’d thought about backtracking to where he started his day at the A&G Diner, he’d have seen that most of the townsfolk were hanging out there waiting to surprise a certain special someone with a big blowout birthday party… and it wasn’t York!
Which, by the way is a damn good thing, as he won’t roll back thataway for something like another two hours to grab a cup of that great coffee they make. And boy will he be surprised when he finds his mystery for the day is partially his fault. Hmmm… I hope he at least remembered to bring a gift. Something old from the glove compartment just won’t do at all…
I know you forget things too (as do I), but you’d better NOT forget to PRE-ORDER a copy of Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut, coming exclusively to the PlayStation 3 on April 30, 2013 from Rising Star Games. Featuring over 100 improvements from the original, Upgraded HD visuals, PlayStation Move and 3D TV support plus MORE, this is going to be a gaming experience that you (wait for it) won’t soon forget (ba-dum-bum!). Thank you, thank you… I’ll be here all week. No cover charge, two cup of coffee minimum!
Speaking of coffee and surprises… I actually needed MORE last week when I noted it was Game Director Swery 65’s birthday. OOPS. It’s actually tomorrow (or is that TODAY in Japan?) and I thought of a great present for him… but Rising Star games beat me to it because they weren’t running around Greenvale and had the time and money to have these AWESOME themed mini-Espresso jars and an A&G Diner mug made up for the birthday boy! Awesome. Of course, NOW I need to get my grubby paws on some of that coffee swag and that mug, but I’ll probably have to settle for pretending I’m in Greenvale and hanging out after the party is over. Hopefully, that stupid Red Seeds Killer won’t muck things up and all those creepy looking Shadows will be well-behaved…
OK, I can’t stay too annoyed at Disney, as this latest blast from the past actually looks quite good. Granted, this one SHOULD be on MORE platforms (those high resolution screens on the Vita and Wii U Gamepad are begging for more love), but I guess Disney is going first and foremost where they’ll rake in the most immediate sacks of loot. Granted, I’d bet a LOT more Disney fans without Xbox Live or PSN accounts (or a fancy tablet) would want to throw money at this on a disc or cartridge of some sort (with that DuckTales reboot tagging along), but no one ever thinks of catering to that crowd these days unless it’s some crowdfunded project that grabs the collectors where they like it.
Anyway, the game art and logo above look nice enough and that teaser video is just that (and too short!):
but those screens below are dipped in yummy chocolate and ready to eat (and they’re freakin’ HUGE when you click on them – go ahead… you KNOW you want to):
Look for this one this summer on PSN and Xbox Live Arcade. Will Disney Interactive, Sega of America and Sega Europe be able to recapture the glory and thrills of the 1990 Sega Genesis classic? Well, we’ll soon find out, right? So far, it’s looking like a real winner…
Platform: Nintendo Wii/Wii U
Developer: Torus Games
Publisher: D3Publisher of America
# of Players: 1 – 4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Official Site (Wii U) (Wii)
Score: B (80%)
If you automatically expect a licensed game based on a family-friendly hit animated film to be yet another platform jumper in terms of gameplay and the usual appearance on multiple consoles, The Croods: Prehistoric Party may end up surprising you a bit on two fronts. First, it’s only for Nintendo’s consoles and handhelds and second, it’s a board game on the Wii and Wii U and a collection of mini-games on the DS and 3DS. Both home versions are exactly the same, save for the ability for solo players or one in a group having at it to play with the Wii U Gamepad. Like the Mario Party series, you’ll have more fun with up to three friends, but it’s entirely possible to play through the game against the AI and have a pretty decent time… Continue reading
Or something like that… I actually stubbed my toe while doing that little dance I usually do when reading the email from mimoco and it still hurts (ouch!). ANYWAY, that email happened to be announcing this new MIMOBOT in the fun UGLYDOLL X MIMOBOT line of mimoco’s stylish USB drives and it’s hard to hop around in pain and type something that makes much sense. Then again, my posts NEVER make much sense if you stop and think about it too much. OK, I’ll take the easy way out and let the image below do the talking:
And of course, you DO know that clicking that image won’t make it get any bigger (I could have allowed this, but you’d probably either get scared or laugh yourself silly seeing a USB drive get so huge), but it WILL take you right to the mimoco site’s order page for it where you can drop some digital ducats on one of these (or more – there are only 2000 available, so leave some for the rest of the fans, please!) without lifting a leg to get up and head to a retail outlet just to find out this one’s all sold out (you can get one from the UGLYDOLL site as well). OK, it’s off to ice the toe and stop the hop. I need a nice seat, as I’m mighty beat!
Oh, I had a ton of puns about last nights episode “handy” (oops!), but I decided to not use them at all out of respect. Well, that and I didn’t want hate mail from fans of a certain character who shouldn’t get fan mail at all because he plays a right bastard. Well, a LEFT bastard now after that last episode. OK, I couldn’t resist. Well, next week’s episode WOULD be hi-larious if it didn’t follow up and instead, left us hanging (unlike that hand) for another week while it focused on other events in Winterfell. THAT would rile up the closure freaks (and cauterize freaks, too!) significantly, especially the ones who don’t yet grasp the concept of suspense and how a show with SO many characters and stories to tell can make some things last a bit longer. Then again, given how that first season ended up, I’m betting we’re gotten up to speed about a few conditions, as things were looking grim for another character when that bait & switch move was pulled…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 